No plan to stop Delhi's sealing drive

The Master Plan 2021, to be formally passed by DDA on Dec 29, is silent on sealings, reports Amitabh Shukla.

The proposed Master Plan of Delhi 2021 (MPD) has little to offer those affected by the sealing and demolition drives over the past year.

MPD 2021, a copy of which is with HT, will be formally passed by the board of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on December 29, and notified in the new year by the Urban Development Ministry.

Far from tackling the issues of sealing and demolition, the document, more than 200 pages long, does not even mention them. This means sealing action will continue as directed by the Supreme Court. The demolition of unauthorised constructions will also start once the one-year moratorium on it ends in August 2007.

For the first time, unlike earlier master plans, this one talks of private participation in land development and housing. So far the DDA alone undertook this exercise. But the prevailing restrictions on the height of buildings will be eased, so as to enable optimum utilisation of land and facilitate creating "signature" projects.

The ground coverage and floor area ratio (FAR) for all categories of residential plots are also being enhanced. They will be different for different zones in the city, and will be made part of the zonal development plan.

There is also a proposal that the MPD be reviewed at five-year intervals. Until now, the master plan was reviewed once every 20 years.